Grace
by KatanaDoshi
Summary: In the aftermath of battle they share a moment of peace.


Grace

Summary: In the aftermath of battle they share a moment of peace.

A/N: This is... a little slashy. And kind of on purpose. Sorry, but reviews do tend to nudge the bunnies in certain directions...This is not necessarily connected to any of the others but you are, as always, welcome to read this in connection with which ever ones you want to make it a continuity of.

You can thank Will Young's hit single for the title.

Warnings: Possible slash if that's the way you're reading it (that's the way I wrote it but you don't HAVE to go that way). Language. References to character development that occurred during the series.

Disclaimer:_ All characters used here belong to the Disney and Buena Vista staffs (But mostly Greg Weisman) who graciously allow fan authors to borrow them. I make no money from this, or their, work_. Well duh.

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><p>The cool air night air felt good on his feverish skin.<p>

No, morning air. Owen sighed and rubbed at the corner of his eye. It was only an hour or so before dawn and then the work day would start. He let his head fall back and hit the stone wall at his back with a small thump. The late nights and early mornings were getting harder, the battles getting rougher. He wondered if it had anything to do with his getting older. There was a shuffling to his right, but Owen declined to open his eyes or move to inspect the noise.

"Are you sleeping?"

"No," Owen relaxed as much as he could, wondering idly if he could make himself melt into the wall. Puck could. More shuffling noises and then distinct warmth of a body settling on the stone beside him.

"You look tired," Owen finally opened his eyes, if only slightly. Lexington was resting back against the wall, knees drawn up under his chin. Owen doubted his own joints would have allowed him to do so comfortably and left his legs splayed in front of him.

"Aren't you?" he returned quietly. They were the only ones in the court yard and there was no reason for them to speak with such low voices but it was a quiet night, even for New York, and after the sounds of battle it was a relief.

"Yeah, but when the sun rises I'll be stone for little over twelve hours. You have to go… do stuff with Xanatos," Lex was staring up at the dark sky above them. The pollution this high up was low and the lights of the city far enough away that fairly decent star gazing could be done from the Eyrie Building. Owen set his head back and joined the small gargoyle in star watching.

"I'll manage. How is your wing?" there was a vicious tear in the webbing of one of Lex's wings that had needed immediate attention after the fight. Owen didn't think he'd ever seen one of the gargoyles bleed so much.

"The stitches are holding and those pills really helped," the medication had been a gamble, but Lex had been in agony. "It'll be out of my system and the wing will be better by the time I wake up."

Owen glanced down at the wing in question. Gauze was awkwardly taped over the mentioned stitches and Lex's arm had had to be strapped to his chest to avoid further tearing.

"I'm glad," the blonde man whispered. He had no doubt that Lex would hear him.

"You aren't going to heal as fast as I am," Lex shifted slightly. "How is your leg?"

"Painful," the gash in Owen's leg was nothing compared to Lex's tear, but Xanatos had fussed which had only made things worse. Owen had refused medication on the grounds that he needed to be wide awake for the day. The local anesthetic had worn off nearly thirty minutes ago.

"Should have taken the pills."

"Probably," Owen said mildly. He wondered if it was a sign of how accustomed they were to everything going terribly wrong that they reacted to the after math of battle with calm tones and genial conversation. Broadway and Goliath had been less calm, but then, the detective had been shot at. "How is Alex?"

"Sleeping. Angela is watching him."

"Angela?" Owen stopped watching the sky to give Lex a questioning look. The female gargoyle had been watching the Xanatos heir a lot lately.

"Yeah. She likes to hold him. Elisa says it's a female thing, like… since there weren't any babies on Avalon and now that she wants to have an egg with Broadway…" the green gargoyle fell silent.

"Are you jealous?" It was more personal than he should have been, but Owen was too tired to care about formalities. Lexington didn't seem to care either.

"Of Angela? No. I wanted a rest."

"Of Broadway," Owen could have left it alone, but for some reason, he'd wanted to know. Lexington was silent for a long moment so Owen closed his eyes again.

"I don't much… like females," Lex said after a moment. Owen made a thoughtful noise in the back of his throat to save himself from coming up with a real response. "The others don't really get it. Especially Brooklyn."

"It's not their business," Owen said suddenly. He wasn't sure where the sentiment came from, but knew that he meant it. Lexington didn't answer for another long time.

"Back home… before, in Scotland I mean, it was… unnatural. We were young, so it didn't matter then… but if I'd said, they would have sent me away."

"Where?" Owen asked quietly.

"The cliffs, probably. I wouldn't be allowed back in the castle. The clan would have rejected me," Lex turned his gaze from the sky at last but didn't look at the blonde man beside him. "It's different now. There are fewer of us and humans have words for it…" Owen snorted inelegantly.

"Like "fag"," he said shortly, there was no heat behind it.

"Humans have always feared what they don't understand," Lex commented. Owen didn't have an answer to that. "Even with the Avalon clan and the others Goliath and Elisa met… I'm just one less rival to worry about now."

"You're more than that," Owen said softly. They lapsed into silence again.

"You're different from the others too," Lex said after a moment. Owen shrugged. "Is it hard?"

"Incomparably so," Owen said plainly. There was no bite in his words, the ache was a familiar one. Something touched his hand and Owen finally opened his eyes. Lex gently ran his talon tipped fingers over the back of Owen's hand once more before pulling away. "But it helps, sometimes, when there's someone to share it with," Owen admitted quietly. There was another pause and then Lexington tipped toward him, leaning again his shoulder.

Owen paused a moment, only long enough to ask himself if he cared if someone saw them like this. When the answer came to him as an echoing, resounding no, he turned and pulled the small gargoyle against his chest. Another moment passed and the blonde turned his head, resting his cheek against the top of Lexington's head.

"Thank you," came the soft, muffled voice of the young gargoyle. "Thank you for sharing it with me."

Several hours later, Xanatos entered the Eyrie Building courtyard in search of his major domo. He found the pale blonde a few minutes later, sleeping with his head resting on the shoulder of the unusually peaceful figure of smallest resident gargoyle. They made a pretty picture despite the bandages on the statue and the blood and dirt on the man, David decided after a moment of looking. Owen would wake up with a horrible kink in his neck, but Xanatos couldn't bear to wake him. Turning on his heel, the man returned to the building and decided that his best employee and most trusted friend deserved the day off.


End file.
